[QUOTE=snowflakeuniverse;1112511]Hi hha1

>Amazing to see what just a camera reveals.

>Either you live where there is less light pollution, or you are good with >touching up the contrast.

A bit of both. I live in the hills above Los Angeles. Visual magnitude in my backyard from NW to NE was +3.5, which is as good as it gets. I barely can see the comet, but with the 60 second exposure the faintest stars visible are about +9.5.

If you see fog in your picture you probably have set the iso too high.

>Your 60 second exposures still have a dark sky, whereas my photos end up >with a light sky.

Set gamma=2 or change levels to 2 to 50 in PhotoShop. Need to experiment.

>Out of curiosity, have you had any problems with the LZ3?

No problems this far. The 6-36 mm f/2.8-4.5 lens is very good. The 1/2.5" 5 Mp CCD is relatively better than some of the newer CCDs which squeeze 10 Mp into the same size CCD.

>I have had other digital cameras with a zoom lens that retreats and extends >from the camera body, and 5 times over 4 years I have had to send the >cameras in for repair. I keep two so when one breaks I have a back up while >the camera is in repair. I am hoping the contained lens system of the LZ5 will >be more robust. So far I am very pleased with the camera.

It sounds like you have an LZ5 (6 Mp with the Venus II engine, otherwise very similar to the LZ3) and an FZ50.

Never had a problem with any of them. My Olympus D490z (3z zoom, 2 Mp)
still works, produces good pictures, but is ever so slow.

>Also, you noted the LZ3 had max asa of 80 for time exposures, did you
> mean to say 800?

The LZ3 in Stary Sky mode uses iso80 only. In non-scene modes the iso is selectable from Auto, 80, 100, 200 and 400. I keep it at iso100.

hha.